THE FOUR MEN sat by the handcar on the shoulder of the right-of-way and finished their lunches. They sat in the sun by their tools on the dusty cinder and limestone roadbed and ate heavy homemade sandwiches and drank steaming coffee, although the day itself was a haze of heat...

"WAKE UP, Uncle Dump. I got a case for you." The old man slowly rolled off the davenport and shuffled across the room. He retrieved his glasses from the mantel and peered at the intruder...

THE DIM evening light, fighting its way through the dusty pane, is almost lost in the drab, boxlike room. It is not reflected by the greasy kerosene stove, the orange crate cupboard on the three-legged stool...

"HAIL MARY, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." The voice is strange. It doesn't make sense as you shuffle slowly along the passageway in the early morning. As you pass the midships hatch, you pause. The early morning air still carried the foul, rotten smell that was there when you went to bed...

'SHARP KID," they said. "Really on the ball." "And kinda sweet, in a funny sort of way." Yes, that's what they said, and Sue felt a warm, maternal glow when she secretly adopted Davey for her little brother...